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THE bunting is out and celebrations are in full swing as the Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, ‘Charles and Camilla’, take part in events marking the 200th anniversary of ties between Bahrain and the UK.
The couple arrived yesterday to a traditional warm Bahraini welcome as part of a seven-day tour which also took in neighbouring Oman and the UAE on behalf of the British government.
UK Ambassador to Bahrain Simon Martin said: “I’m absolutely delighted that this important and historic visit is crowning a year in which we are celebrating the 200th year anniversary of UK-Bahrain relations.
“This gives us a wonderful opportunity to showcase the deep and wide-ranging relationship between our two countries.”
The ambassador and his team have aimed to organise 200 events across the kingdom throughout the year to mark the occasion – from culinary bake-offs to art exhibitions – and they are close to accomplishing that number as the year nears its end.
This royal visit is more OOO as His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier, and The Prince of Wales, will visit the Royal Navy’s new facility in Bahrain to mark the opening of the installation’s Welfare Building.
It will serve personnel stationed at the base, as reported in our sister newspaper, the Gulf Daily News. The Royal Navy’s newest presence outside of the UK has been built at the invitation of the King of Bahrain. As the first new British military establishment east of Suez since 1971, the facility aims to make a major contribution to security in the region.
The base, home to up to 600 personnel, will add to the UK´s already strong defensive presence in the region, with military assets including Royal Air Force Tornado aircraft, mine hunters, a remotely piloted air system, Hercules transport aircraft, air-to-air refuelling and surveillance aircraft.
The relationship between the two countries appears to be growing stronger by the day. Only last month His Majesty King Hamad visited the UK, where he held talks with Queen Elizabeth and Prime Minister Theresa May on solid bilateral relations, as well as regional and international developments.
And the BHUK 2016 celebrations continue with a touch of culture today for the opening night of The Manama Theatre Club’s latest production of Will Shakespeare Save Us! by Paul Nimmo at the British Club in Um Al Hassam.
It runs until Saturday and GulfWeekly was invited to the dress rehearsal.
